For more than two months, an offshore pipeline has been leaking large quantities of natural gas into Alaska's Cook Inlet. The leak threatens Cook Inlet beluga whales, a genetically distinct, endangered population that has dwindled to just 340 individuals.

Yet the company that owns the pipeline, Hilcorp Alaska, has no intention of shutting down the leak until sea ice clears later this month. We must let state officials know that this is unacceptable.

Natural gas pollution limits the amount of oxygen in the water, creating dead zones that hurt belugas, their prey, and other wildlife. The escaped gas -- which is 99 percent methane, a powerful greenhouse gas -- is entering not just the water but also the atmosphere, damaging our climate.

The Center for Biological Diversity intends to sue Hilcorp over this leak for violating the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act and the Pipeline Safety Act.